UK Cops release CCTV video of Royal car attack

London: Metropolitan police released new footage on Tuesday of the moments Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall's vehicle was attacked by angry students during protests in London in December 2010.

The couple were heading to a theatre for a charity variety performance when their Rolls Royce crossed paths with a volatile gang of demonstrators.

The attackers, up to 20 of them, surrounded the limousine and pounded it with fists and bottles, smashing a window, and splashed the gleaming car with paint amid chants of "Off with their heads" and "Tory scum."

After several chaotic minutes, the car managed to force its way through the crowd and drive off.

Charles' office, Clarence House, said the couple was unharmed.

But Camilla, 63, looked shaken and Charles was sombre as the couple arrived at the London Palladium a few minutes after the attack.

Police released CCTV footage of the incident on Tuesday with highlighted images of persons of interest, in a quest to identify those involved in the attacks.

Protesters angry at a huge tuition fee hikes clashed with police and smashed windows in London last month, after legislators in the House of Commons approved a plan to triple university fees to 9,000 pounds a year.

Thousands of students staged a peaceful protest but a minority turned violent, hurling sticks and rocks at riot police, smashing store windows and setting on fire a giant Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square.